COLLEGE FOOTBALL; With Godsey at Quarterback, Notre Dame Mystery Is Solved

The first act of ''The Gary Godsey Story'' was promising: the credits rolled 13 days ago at O'Neill Hall on the Notre Dame campus. Godsey, the 6-foot-7-inch tight end turned quarterback, is sleeping. In walks quarterback Arnaz Battle, who nearly led the Fighting Irish to an upset of Nebraska, the top-ranked team in the country, the day before. Battle has six teammates with him, as well as a broken left wrist.

Battle wakes up Godsey and says that he will probably miss the rest of the season, that the fate of the team rests on Godsey's rusty right arm.

Cut to six days later, at Notre Dame Stadium, with 80,000 people on their feet. The Irish trail Purdue, 21-20, with 3 minutes 39 seconds remaining.

''Let's not leave the field second,'' Godsey tells his teammates in the huddle.

The Irish have made 3 of 12 third-down conversions all afternoon but Godsey, a sophomore, leads them to three more on the final drive -- including a 15-yard completion to Javin Hunter on third-and-10. Godsey gets them close enough for Nick Setta to kick a 38-yard, game-winning field goal as time expires.

It already has more plot points than ''Rudy,'' but the Godsey story may get richer. The Irish (2-1), ranked 16th, have not won a road game in more than a year. On Saturday they play here against No. 23 Michigan State (2-0) -- which has won each of the past three games between the schools by at least 10 points.

''I know it's my first away game, but I'm not worried,'' said Godsey, who scored a touchdown and completed 14 of 25 passes for 158 yards against Purdue. ''I've pictured myself in front of 80,000 people since last spring. I've continually told myself that I would get my chance and now it's up to me to make the best of it.''

In fact, Godsey is already suggesting rewrites. He dislikes being called a converted tight end because, as a high school senior in Tampa, Fla., he threw for 1,800 yards and 22 touchdowns with only four interceptions. Even better, the position is part of the family pedigree. His brother, George, is the starting quarterback at Georgia Tech. But Godsey was intent on attending Notre Dame and agreed to a scholarship as a tight end after Davie promised the recruit C. J. Leak that the Irish would not try to bring in another quarterback.

''Coach was honest and up front about it,'' Godsey said. ''He didn't rule out quarterback, but said I was coming as a tight end.

''But I had it in mind I was going to be a quarterback at Notre Dame and was willing to see what happened.''

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When Leak changed his mind and chose Wake Forest, and injuries thinned the Irish at quarterback last season, Godsey was installed as the third-string backup. He had a decent spring practice, but understood that the starting job belonged to Battle, who was better suited to run the option.

Still, Godsey dreamed.

''I took the backup role very serious,'' he said. ''I lost 22 pounds over the summer so I'd be more mobile and I talked with my brother every day -- I still do -- about what to look for and things to expect.''

His teammates noticed. At 11 a.m. on Sept. 10, Battle and a group that included tight end Jabari Holloway, receiver David Givens and defensive back Brock Williams, went to his dorm room. Their message was clear.

''They told me that they were confident in me, that I had worked as hard as anyone and it was up to me to keep the team's aspirations alive,'' Godsey said.

Godsey knows the ending he wants; it is nearly identical to another that unfolded for a third-stringer at Notre Dame. In 1977, in the third game of the year against Purdue, Joe Montana was put into the game with one minute left in the third quarter. The Irish trailed, 24-10. Montana completed 9 of 14 passes for 154 yards and led the Irish to 21 points as Notre Dame won, 31-24.

Led by Montana, Notre Dame won its last 10 games to finish 11-1 and win the national title.

Godsey certainly will take a wrap and print on that ending.

''We very easily could be 3-0,'' he said. ''I can see a 10-1 season just as easily. It's the team's goal, so it's my goal.''